


When a Bad Day (Month) Turns Good

by Purple_ducky00



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bad Days, Get-Together Fic, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, buckytony - Freeform, fills, this might as well happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24986596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Tony and Bucky are both having terrible days, or, in Bucky's case, months.  When Bucky falls asleep on Tony, how will they both react when we wakes up?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, StarkBucksBingo2020





	1. Tony's POV

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 is written for:
> 
> Starkbucks Bingo - B1 "This might as well happen"  
> Bucky Barnes Bingo - B1 "This might as well happen"

Tony Stark has had a fucking terrible day. It started with him waking from a nightmare that took his breath away and left him reeling. Grumbling that no sane person gets up at six am, Tony forced himself out of bed and down to the lab. He wasn’t going to fall back asleep anyways.

Next, when he emerged to grab some breakfast, there was _no coffee left_ – not only in the pot but also in the bag. He groaned and left the kitchen. What more could go wrong? He really shouldn’t have asked that question.

Harley fell out of Clint’s rope-web contraption and broke his leg. Tony spent a good few hours sitting with him and making sure Harley kept his leg immobile. The stubborn little sucker fought and fought to get out of bed. Although concerned, Clint chuckled and asked if he was positive Harley wasn’t his biological kid.

To make matters worse, Dr. Doom attacked the tower, his purpose, of course, to ask Tony out. He had surrounded the tower with Doombots – seriously, there was not a square inch on the surface of the tower that was not occupied by a Doombot – and refused to let up until Tony would come out onto the helipad. By that time - 1pm to be exact, Tony had already been ready to call it a day. He walked out, arms crossed. “What do you want, Doom?”

“Tony, please, you can call Doom Victor.” Doom gestures at the sky. “It is a beautiful day, yes?”

“Oh, this day is just fucking peachy,” Tony says, lacing his words with sarcasm, “and it just keeps getting better and better.”

Doom, who apparently can’t pick up on blatant sarcasm, replied, “That is good to hear, Tony. Would you like to accompany me to Latveria for a nice dinner? I have hired a talented chef for the night.”

“Hired or kidnapped?”

“All details.” Doom dismissed the question with his hand. “What do you say?”

“Doom. Victor. No.” Tony wasn’t sure if a straight rejection would cause an attack or not, but he wasn’t in the mood for Doom's games. If he wanted to attack, let him. JARVIS could disassemble these Doombots in a heartbeat. “I don’t want to go out with you.” _You're_ _not Bucky Barnes_.

“Doom understands. He will not press the topic, but he believes that one day you will accept him." Doom nodded and left, taking his bots with him. Tony sighed and walked back into the tower. He just wanted some good news.

Now, he’s sitting on the couch, watching a movie while messing with some specs on his Starkpad. He finally has a moment alone to relax and unwind from this stressful day when a bleary-eyed Bucky Barnes walks in. Tony is sure the other man think’s he’s alone in the room because he collapses on the couch with his head on Tony’s lap and promptly falls asleep.

“What the – whatever,” Tony sighs, talking to himself. “This might as well happen.” He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t want to wake Bucky up because he knows the man has not been sleeping well. Bucky has had a few traumatic missions in the past few months, and he deals by distancing himself for days on end. But that’s the thing. If Bucky thinks he fell asleep alone wakes up with his head in Tony’s lap, he’ll probably never talk to Tony again. If Tony were Bucky, he definitely wouldn’t. Tony will miss the late-night talks in the kitchen, or those hours spent in the shop. But again, Bucky is _sleeping_ – for the first time in a while.

The biggest problem about this whole situation is Tony’s huge pathetic crush on the man. Bucky Barnes is drop-dead gorgeous – have you _seen_ that jawline and those thighs? – but he's so adorable as well. Tony had become enamored watching him learn new things. When Bucky found a small duckling who lost its mother, the little thing cuddled itself up on his hand and fell asleep. The look on Bucky’s face was so precious, Tony’s heart exploded. All he wanted to do from there out was to make sure Bucky knows that he is loved, but he’s sure Bucky wouldn’t appreciate that much attention from Tony.

Tony sits as still as he can, debating whether he should try to get up when Steve walks in. “Oh, there he is,” Steve sighs in relief. “I have been looking all over for him.”

Tony gestures helplessly. “Yea, uh, he just walked in and fell on the couch while I was still sitting here.”

“Thanks for letting him sleep.” Steve smiles softly. “He’s had a rough go of it for a while, and he doesn’t even let his guard down around me right now. I’m glad he has someone he can trust.”

“Steve. That’s great and all, but I don’t think he knew I was here. He was dead on his feet.”

Steve gives Tony a look. “Bucky is never not aware of his surroundings. He can’t afford to not. He wouldn’t come in here without making sure the room was safe. He trusts you, Tony. And I’m happy that he feels safe enough to sleep.” He smiles down at Bucky, then looks back to Tony. “On that note, you look pretty tired, too. Why don’t you give your eyes a rest?”

“As much as I loathe to get instructions from you, Cap, I just might take you up on that one.” Tony yawns. “I’m fucking exhausted, and I have had only one bad day. Bucky has to feel terrible.”

“I'm sure he’ll feel better when he wakes up to you,” Steve says and walks out with a cryptic smile on his face.

_What the hell does THAT mean?_ “What do you mean?” Tony asks in a low tone that carries across the room, but Steve keeps going. “No wait, Steve! Come back!” He shakes his head. _Steve Rogers is not a nice person_ is the last thought that goes through his head before he drifts off.

Tony wakes up five hours later, feeling watched. He opens his eyes to find Bucky staring up at him from his lap. “Gah! Hi.”

“I’m sorry,” Bucky replies. “I thought you were awake, and I was so tired. I didn’t mean to put you in this position.”

“I prefer to be on my back,” Tony quips before he can stop himself.

Bucky’s eyes darken. “I can arrange that."

“I’m sure you can, you beefcake.” Tony whacks Bucky’s thigh lightly. “Seriously though, how are you?”

“It’s funny how a good nap can sometimes take away some of your paranoia,” Bucky answers. “I feel really good. But I’m hungry. Want a midnight snack with me?” He stands and holds out his hand.

Tony grins and takes it. Maybe this day wasn’t _so_ bad after all.


	2. Bucky's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is written for:
> 
> Bucky Barnes Bingo - U2 Bucky/Tony

Bucky Barnes has had a shitty two months. Raiding two Hydra bases from his Winter Soldier days hadn’t helped. Then he accidentally clicked on a video that questioned whether he should have been pardoned. He knew he shouldn’t have clicked on the video, but the problem is, he agreed with some of the points they made.

Bucky knows if Tony had been there, Tony would have taken every single point and ripped it to shreds, but Bucky didn’t have the mind-capacity or the energy to even think about countering them.

Physically exhausted but mentally wired, Bucky retreated from the team. He knew this is not healthy for him, but he still didn’t trust everyone fully. Because Bucky had distanced himself for a good two weeks, Steve made it his duty to check up on him. Bucky knew Steve was doing it because he loves Bucky, but he just wished Steve would leave him alone. He didn’t want to see anyone; Bucky just wanted to get some rest.

Bucky is sure he slept a half-hour here or there, but he didn’t sleep well because there was always _something_ that set his senses on high alert. _I just to be with someone that I can trust to protect me so I can just sleep._ Bucky thinks. Steve comes to mind first, but Bucky knows there were still times he thought Steve was his mission. He barely remembers Natalia, and the others – well, they were nice enough, but could he fall asleep around them? No. Well, except… Tony.

Tony Stark was and is a shining light in Bucky’s life. When he was first pardoned and brought into the tower, Tony had taken him under his wing, letting him hide in the shop when Steve was looking for him and staying up to talk with him in the kitchen when Bucky couldn’t sleep. When Bucky had asked him how he could stand being around his parents’ murder, Tony had replied, “I can’t. Why do you think HYDRA has gone quiet? The moment they make a peep, I’m going to blow them to bits.” When he had seen that Bucky still looked distressed, Tony had assured him, “Bucky, you’re not guilty of this. I know it’s hard to realize that – hell, there are still things I feel guilty about that I, in all honesty, could do nothing to stop. But we have to work through it, and I am certain you will.” That had been the first time Bucky cried since 1936 when Sarah Rogers passed.

Over the months after that night, Bucky started looking at Tony in a different way. He started realizing things like how much he loved when Tony’s eyes shown when he was talking about science, how much he wanted to go over and give Tony a hug when the man distanced himself, how much he wanted to kiss the sadness out of his eyes forever, and how much he wanted to… Bucky had shuddered when he realized that he wanted to have sex with Tony and love him. He knew he found men attractive in the 1920s and 30s, but it had been forbidden, and the feelings had never been as strong as these. His hands twitch to hold Tony every time he’s around, and Bucky has to resign himself to a life of want. Even when he found out that gay marriage was legalized and accepted, Bucky never made a move because Tony never showed an interest.

Tony himself was a wonder to behold, and adding Iron Man on top of that, Bucky wonders how everyone isn’t in love with the man. He is powerful, brave, caring, kind, beautiful, and that ass… Bucky never really had a shot, did he? And he trusts Tony with his life, with everything. If Tony decided Bucky needed to die, Bucky would go willingly, but he knows Tony would never do that. Tony would try so hard to save everyone because that’s who he is. 

Bucky thinks that maybe, _maybe_ if Tony wasn’t busy, he would let Bucky sleep in his area. “Miss FRIDAY, where's Tony?” He mumbles.

“Boss is in the movie room,” the AI responds.

Nodding a thanks to the voice, Bucky makes his way towards the room. Seeing that Tony is alone and on the corner of a couch, Bucky lies down on the couch with his head on Tony’s lap. Tony doesn’t move, and Bucky assumes he’s sleeping. Closing his eyes and lowering his defenses, Bucky falls asleep.

Bucky wakes up, well-rested and with his bad feelings gone. He realizes that he is sleeping on Tony’s lap… something that probably crossed his mind when he decided to lie down but didn’t *fully* cross his mind. _Oh shit._ Bucky is frozen. _What’s he gonna do now? Goodbye Tony as a friend._ Still staring up at Tony, Bucky gathers his surroundings. He’s in the movie room, it’s about 11:30pm, and very few tower members are still awake.

Tony stirs and looks down, catching the full affect of Bucky’s wide open eyes staring at him. “Gah! Hi.”

That’s when Bucky really starts to panic. “I’m sorry,” he says, “I thought you were awake and I was so tired. I didn’t mean to put you in this position.”

“I prefer to be on my back,” Tony quips, to Bucky’s surprise.

Bucky knows he’s turned on. “I can arrange that."

“I’m sure you can, you beefcake.” Tony whacks Bucky’s thigh lightly. “Seriously though, how are you?”

“It’s funny how a good nap can sometimes take away some of your paranoia,” Bucky answers. “I feel really good. But I’m hungry. Want a midnight snack with me?” He stands and holds out his hand. Tony accepts, and Bucky pulls him to his feet. Hand-in-hand, they walk out to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
